Gun activist calls on Texans to arrest and hang state lawmakers after open carry bill is delayed

A Texas gun activist is once again calling for the execution of lawmakers over a bill that would allow the open carry of handguns.

Kory Watkins expressed his frustration Thursday morning in a Facebook post after open carry legislation stalled the day before over law enforcement concerns.

“I’m calling for the arrest of every elected official in Texas that voted against open carry,” Watkins said. “They should be arrested, charged with treason and should face a punishment that could result in being hung from the tree of liberty.”

Facebook post by Kory Watkins

The Texas House appeared close to passing the legislation, but law enforcement groups persuaded lawmakers Wednesday to remove a provision that would prevent police from asking those carrying weapons for their licenses if there was no other reason to stop them.

The measure was sent back to a bipartisan conference committee for revision, and the head of Open Carry Tarrant County urged his followers to take action against unsupportive legislators.

“What do you think gets their attention more after they go against the people? Some phone calls? Or actual liberty or death?” Watkins said. “Texans, asking for our rights and waiting for them is not the right tactic. Start putting ‪#‎FootInDoors‬.”

Watkins posted a video online in February that also called for the execution of state lawmakers for following legislative procedures that he believed had delayed the passage of open carry laws.

“I don’t know if they forgot what their duty is, and that’s to protect the Constitution,” Watkins said in the video. “And let me remind you – going against the Constitution is treason, and, my friend, that is punishable by death. That’s how serious this is.”

The gun activist, who thinks Texans should be permitted to openly carry rifles and handguns without permits, deleted the video a short time later and claimed that he had not intended the comments as a threat but merely a warning that the Founding Fathers had taken treason seriously.

“I love the constitution dearly, and the constitution is very clear on the process for convicting someone for treason, I was obviously not calling for such a process, nor was I threatening anyone. I simply wished to point out the seriousness of the constitution,” Watkins said at the time.